Rebuilt interior plastic parts (glovebox)

[328 Power 04]

I've been putting this off for a while due to not knowing outcome, and lack of glovebox reinforcement.

A few weeks ago I received my reinforcement plates, so I decided to tackle the Alpine White Z3 first, since I had the glovebox off already. It had multiple cracks at mounting points, and tabs were broken off. I didn't think I was going to be able to salvage it.

I decided to give this product a try, Plast-Aid on Amazon

It is said that you can rebuild plastics with it, as it is a plastic and incorporates itself with your part. I was skeptical, but gave it a try today.

Results:
















I still have to drill the mounting holes on the tabs. It is made by mixing a powdered plastic with a liquid solvent. Smells very repulsive.
It can be molded into pretty much anything you want (even by hand) and hardens in about 10 minutes. It works excellently as a glue. It behaves exactly like a hard plastic... meaning it can be drilled, sanded, painted, or even dyed while mixing it.





I was concerned that it would not be hard enough, or would not hold.


I am happy to report:



The glovebox is about 5-6 lbs.



I hope this will be useful to the forums I'm sure this would work VERY well with the seat belt guides, if done in a clean manner.


Now on to the Coupe's interior plastics...

[SounderMN]

Good find. Thanks for sharing. I'm going to try it!

[Vintage42]

... The glovebox is about 5-6 lbs...

There is a double walled steel plate inside the lid that weighs exactly 2 lbs. After removal of the plate, the glove is so feather light that I did not bother to weigh it. The weight of that plate, plus a heavy zipper binder full of manuals, caused my glovebox to sag and rattle. After removal of the plate, and relocation of the manuals to the rear console storage bin, my car is rattle free.
http://s49.photobucket.com/user/vint...?sort=9&page=1

[djb2]

I had exactly the same break.

I used black ABS plumbing cement. It worked great on this part, and several other trim parts.

The type of plastic is molded into the part. That helps you select the best repair.

Edit: I should point out that ABS cement only works on ABS plastic. Not "best on".. "only on". On other plastics it just dries on the surface and peels off. Not all of the trim pieces are ABS. The cement is basically ABS plastic dissolved in solvent. When applied it dissolves a bit of the part before the solvent evaporates, resulting in a single mostly-uniform piece.

[BladeRunner919]

I believe you can get a similar result from baking soda and superglue - I think it's probably a bit harder to get right, but in an emergency...

[328 Power 04]

I believe you can get a similar result from baking soda and superglue - I think it's probably a bit harder to get right, but in an emergency...

Haha, at least this product you can manipulate with your hands. Superglue is the best skin glue ever.


Also I doubt it would hold so much weight per such little surface area. That was the point of holding it up in the air. Too many times I've tried repairing tabs and plastics with glue that just ended up separating the second you assemble and tighten the screw.

[mcoupemindy]

Cool! Let us know how it holds up over time.

[328 Power 04]

Cool! Let us know how it holds up over time.

Will do, I will be installing it this week, can't wait for no more squeaks from that area.

[kungfooren]

Thanks for introducing me to this stuff. It's great! Do work in an ventilated area as the fumes are pretty bad..
I was able to drill through the newly formed plastic without any issues.
Photo Oct 25, 11 00 15 AM.jpgPhoto Oct 24, 9 56 27 PM.jpgPhoto Oct 24, 9 56 18 PM.jpg

[raubritter]

This is awesome! I have a number of broken (and missing) clips on different pieces that need to be rebuilt. It's been 3 years, has this plastic repair stuff held up well?

[328 Power 04]

No issues yet. I kind of wish it was a little more flexible, similar to the factory plastics, but it works well either way.

[LannVouivre]

How did you mold them? I've had some in the garage for like a year and haven't messed with them since I figured out that planning might be a necessary component to fix them. I found out my glove box was sagging because the dash itself had broken. I also broke the gauge cluster hood because it was rattling and before I could stop myself, I had an autopilot moment and tried to gently pop it up off of this style of Ford clip. Except obviously this isn't a Ford, and the plastic was so old and degraded that very gentle pressure caused it to completely snap free. It's the most brittle plastic I've ever encountered, even the 32-year-old Tercel had sturdier plastic.

I'd honestly like to learn to use this plast-aid better so I can intentionally break some of these pieces across the weakest portions and glue them, because it seems like the really flimsy bits have just got bands where the plastic has changed, yet the rest of the panel is still flexible and pliant m

[rasmuw]

[QUOTE=LannVouivre;29881462]It's the most brittle plastic I've ever encountered, even the 32-year-old Tercel had sturdier plastic.

I'd honestly like to learn to use this plast-aid better.../QUOTE]

Here's a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkTSpmS1zXY

I used this extensively after reading the original post. Most of the time, I used the material as a paste. When you get to the point of being able to mold it by hand, there isn't much workable time left. It is not very sticky at that point and doesn't want to adhere to the ABS, so you won't have much time. I found myself making several batches to accomplish my purpose. It's best to try to create some forms with Silly Putty to pour the material so that it has a better chance to adhere. Either way, you'll probably need a Dremel with a sanding drum on it to shape it into its finished form. Be careful drilling as the material is also more brittle than ABS.

I had a broken plastic in my dash as well where the glove box has to attach. It turned out pretty well with Plast-Aid.

You are right about the brittle plastic. I can't imagine cheaper plastic in an expensive car. Two good friends of mine run an auto repair shop and they allow me to work on my car there. When they saw what and how much I was repairing, they said, "Ah, BMW, the illusion of quality."

[amancuso]

[QUOTE=rasmuw;29881719]

It's the most brittle plastic I've ever encountered, even the 32-year-old Tercel had sturdier plastic.

I'd honestly like to learn to use this plast-aid better.../QUOTE]

Here's a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkTSpmS1zXY

I used this extensively after reading the original post. Most of the time, I used the material as a paste. When you get to the point of being able to mold it by hand, there isn't much workable time left. It is not very sticky at that point and doesn't want to adhere to the ABS, so you won't have much time. I found myself making several batches to accomplish my purpose. It's best to try to create some forms with Silly Putty to pour the material so that it has a better chance to adhere. Either way, you'll probably need a Dremel with a sanding drum on it to shape it into its finished form. Be careful drilling as the material is also more brittle than ABS.

I had a broken plastic in my dash as well where the glove box has to attach. It turned out pretty well with Plast-Aid.

You are right about the brittle plastic. I can't imagine cheaper plastic in an expensive car. Two good friends of mine run an auto repair shop and they allow me to work on my car there. When they saw what and how much I was repairing, they said, "Ah, BMW, the illusion of luxury."

LOL, the quality of interior parts varies from model to model. The e39 is pretty well built.

[328 Power 04]

You can thank BMW's initiative at the time to use recycled and more environmentally friendly components, without much UV protection. So I am not sure it's all just money savings. Still sucks.

[Dakar Ole]

You can thank BMW's initiative at the time to use recycled and more environmentally friendly components, without much UV protection. So I am not sure it's all just money savings. Still sucks.

You mean it still sucks like their paint program?

[328 Power 04]

Yes, water based automotive paint. Best idea ever.

[LannVouivre]

My fiance's E39 has a much better interior, in every aspect. Except his is more basic than mine so he doesn't have heated seats. Makes me mad, his interior only has damage to one door sill plate and a dome light. Mine, on the other hand, has basically become some sort of horrible rotten trap where your dignity goes to die.

At least I have heated seats, though.

[BimmerBreaker]

I don't think the interior quality is bad on Z3's, but I've also got euro gloveboxes. The US ones were not the intended design and the weight of the added US crap is what seems to break the glovebox.

[raubritter]

I'm all for less-toxic components and production methods, but whatever happened with the Z3 era was not great for longevity. The paint on my 09 Mini is much less chip-attracting (and I assume BMW is still using water-based paints), and only some of the plastic panels on the Z3 have become brittle so I wonder if maybe some panels were from bad batches or suppliers or whatever? Or maybe we were the bleeding edge of a new era

Anyway, it's the 'ultimate driving machine' not the 'ultimate non-self-destructing-interior machine'

[rasmuw]

I don't think the interior quality is bad on Z3's, but I've also got euro gloveboxes. The US ones were not the intended design and the weight of the added US crap is what seems to break the glovebox.

Fair enough. It was the glove box that took most of my time, and I eventually purchased a used cover since it was so badly broken around the latch. The Done When I'm Dead repair kit was a good upgrade. Other broken pieces: the left hockey stick on the console, the shifter trim (replaced--I suppose this was a bad design from the start), the dead pedal (did the spray foam fix--another poor design), the sealing strip when I fixed the leaking convertible (butyl tape missing between the sealing strip and tack strip), the subwoofer oddments box was badly cracked at the base of the back (perhaps because the owner who replaced the convertible leaned on it), and the covers for the hardtop mounting brackets. All were cosmetic and didn't contribute to the way the car drives, which is excellent.

My previous toy was a '66 E-type, which had very little plastic. I worry that cars of the plastic era will deteriorate so badly that they will cease to be collectible because the plastic is no longer available to replace the original as it dries out.

[LannVouivre]

It would maybe be a good idea to get 3D scans of plastic components and store them for the sake of preserving the design. Most people don't have access to the scanners, though.

I think the material has bad batches *and* bands of plastic that are improperly mixed or otherwise more susceptible to oxidation and other chemical degradation. Of course, a black interior in a car with a black top in a southern climate might just be a recipe for enough destruction by themselves that my thoughts are especially biased.

[rasmuw]

Of course, a black interior in a car with a black top in a southern climate might just be a recipe for enough destruction by themselves that my thoughts are especially biased.

That is some of the problem in my car, which spent its first 17 years in the Florida panhandle/southeastern Alabama. The black cloth under the rear window of the hardtop was light purple rather than black! It sure is nice that all the fasteners on the frame have been easy to remove. That's nothing like the middle Atlantic/New England cars I am accustomed to working on.

[Mr Bingley]

My previous toy was a '66 E-type, which had very little plastic. I worry that cars of the plastic era will deteriorate so badly that they will cease to be collectible because the plastic is no longer available to replace the original as it dries out.

A legitimate concern, but I think it is a greater concern to ask whether cars will be collectible at all when we're not allowed to drive them anymore--maybe 10 years out or so.

[BimmerBreaker]

A legitimate concern, but I think it is a greater concern to ask whether cars will be collectible at all when we're not allowed to drive them anymore--maybe 10 years out or so.

I'd almost wager to bet that cars like ours will be relegated to the corners of some obscure person's warehouse, while the cars that end up at museums are toyota corollas and honda accords, cars that the majority of people would associate with so when kids of my generation take their kids to these museums some day, they can look and say "yeah, I used to drive one of those to school. can you imagine that?"